Rachel Chinouriri Reveals How Sabrina Carpenter Inspired Her to Make Sure Not to Get 'Cocky' with Fame (Exclusive)

• Rachel Chinouriri recently released her EP Little House and is set to head out on her first North American tour
• The indie-pop star opens up about what she learned from touring with the "sweet" Sabrina Carpenter
• She also reveals her dream of collaborating with Pink Pantheress and Addison Rae

Rachel Chinouriri has already had a banner 2025 — and it's not even halfway done.

Not only did she release her new EP Little House, a follow-up to her critically-acclaimed 2024 debut album What a Devastating Turn of Events, celebrating the joy of being with her partner of a year, but the 26-year-old indie-pop star also landed an opening slot on Sabrina Carpenter's Short 'n' Sweet Tour dates in the U.K.

For Chinouriri, who had to cancel her North American tour dates due to financial issues last year including a handful supporting Remi Wolf, the opportunity was thrilling.

"The best way I can describe it is, [Sabrina's] team is magical, backstage is magical, her aura is magical," said the London-born artist.

But on Friday, May 9, Chinouriri — who has found fans in Adele, Lewis Capaldi, Sam Fender and Florence Pugh — will finally bring her Y2K-era Tumblr aesthetic stateside with her long-awaited North American headlining tour. While she's not sure how the crowd will compare to the U.K., fans can expect lots of sparkles, jumping and singing together. Though she's not entirely sure how similar the audience will be to those across the pond.

"Brits [are] always chanting, whether it's football, arenas, stadiums, wherever it is, and because I haven't really toured America, I don't know if it's the same vibe," explains Chinouriri.

Ahead of her tour, Chinouriri opens up to PEOPLE about what she learned from Carpenter, wanting to collaborate with Addison Rae and how calling out how being misplaced on the wrong genre playlists helped not only herself, but other Black artists.

PEOPLE: It’s been a year since you released your debut album What a Devastating Turn of Events. How do you feel you’ve grown?

Chinouriri: I feel like I can actually now say that I'm a singer, which is a weird thing to say, because before an album, you're kind of like, “Oh, I'm trying to be a singer, but I haven't got stuff out yet.” Maybe it's because I'm British and slightly self-deprecating, but now that I have an album out and I've got nominated for awards, I can be like, “Oh, I'm a singer, and I feel like I can confidently say I'm a singer because of the body of work that I had.” Less so because of the success of it, but more so that I can actually be like, "I have an album that's a vinyl." It made me put on my big-girl boots and feel like a grown-up in this industry for once, even though I am a grown-up. But I felt quite behind before I did my first album, so I'm glad I'm feeling like I've maybe earned my place now.

PEOPLE: Have you and Florence Pugh stayed in touch since she starred in your video for "Never Needed Me"?

Chinouriri: We have. It's not crazily frequently. I'll message her a paragraph saying stuff, she won't reply for ages, and then suddenly I wake up and she's sent me a paragraph — and I forget to reply. We kind of message in big chunks of fragments, and then I reply to her stories, she replies to my stories. It's very cutesy, but it's quite impossible to try and meet anyone. I want to meet up with her soon, hopefully. I've also made other friends through meeting Florence and her friends, but we are still in contact. She's still my friend. She's still my girlie. She's such a sweet queen.

PEOPLE: What was the concept behind the Little House EP?

Rachel Chinouriri: I met my partner [Isaac] a year and a half ago, roughly. And after I made my album, I'd handed it in so long ago, and I had lost all inspiration to make music. But when I'm in a happy place, I struggle to make music, so I wanted to not let that be my only story. And my boyfriend made me very happy, so I thought I'd make an EP about how much I love him. It's a little bit cheesy, quite tongue-in-cheek in many ways. I do love the EP, but it's just about me being in love with the man.

PEOPLE: Isaac starred in the music video for “Can We Talk About Isaac?” What was it like collaborating with him in that way?

Chinouriri: He directed it, as well. There were moments where it was stressful because I was in the middle of tour when we filmed it, so I literally drove straight after the Birmingham show four hours away, and then did the video. But it made me pretty happy to be able to see him in the middle of tour. I'd never worked with him. He's an amazing director and does video and film for agriculture and farming, and now works in the music industry as well. I loved working with him. I think he's amazing, obviously. It was quite funny, because obviously the songs are about him. So, it was interesting to see his interpretation while talking about him, which was very sweet and very endearing.

PEOPLE: How did you guys meet?

Chinouriri: Hinge. I know, I know. It is terrible. The thing is these apps do work, don't they? I hate saying that we met on Hinge, but I'm like, you know what? Hinge, you did your thing. It's almost like Instagram.

PEOPLE: You had a really awesome opportunity to open for Sabrina Carpenter on tour. How did that come about?

Chinouriri: Her friends and sisters showed her my music, but then her managers had heard my music and then my manager's friend, coincidentally, had met up with her manager, because they were friends. He was like, "Have you heard of this girl called Rachel Chinouriri? I think she's really cool." I think because he had said that, it then all aligned. They were all then like, "Ah, there's this girl who we're all kind of aligning with. Where's she from?" Then I was from the U.K., and they were like, "Right, we'll bring her on tour,” which is crazy. Sabrina also was like, "How do we get this girl on the tour?" And I was like, "You don't have to ask me twice, girl." She's just one of the nicest people I've ever met.

PEOPLE: What was your experience like opening for her and playing these shows?

Chinouriri: It was interesting, because I started the tour on the back of going to the BRIT Awards, which was my first-ever proper awards show. I was in the hustle and bustle of the world, and then you enter her world, and it's really magical. I kind of felt like I was a bit in a movie. I don't know if it's because everyone had American accents, and I was one of the few Brits there. It was just really special. The first couple of shows, I was a bit scared, but you come out, and her fan base was so nice. Every night felt surreal.

PEOPLE: Did Sabrina give you any advice?

Chinouriri: Well, I was just like, "How on earth are you not sweating on stage, and how do you stop that?" And she said she is, so that went out the window. Then, I was like, "How do you keep up with the dancing and the singing?" Because she is singing. We're all hearing her sound check. She's full-on belting and singing [and] doing all the choreography, but she looks like a Barbie doll. She's got her fitness routines and stuff. I was like, “I just got to keep going and being motivated. She's so confident in who she is and I think that's something I was really inspired by — that she's not cocky. She's also so sweet. She was like, "Please tell me anything you need help with." It’s inspired me to look at how I want to be as an act when I have openers on my tours. I want to treat them how she's treated me.

PEOPLE: What can fans expect from your first U.S. tour?

Chinouriri: Lots of sparkles, lots of jumping, lots of singing all together. The Brits love a chant. Brits always chanting, whether it's football, arenas, stadiums, wherever it is. And because I haven't really toured America, I don't know if it's the same vibe, so I'll be intrigued to see if they will. But I've done a couple of shows, and it was the same vibe. Getting ready to sing really loudly altogether is what I'm excited for, as well. 

PEOPLE: Are you working on your next album?

Chinouriri: Not yet. I wish I was, to be honest. I'm still on the road. Straight after this tour, I've already said to my team I want to be in studio because I haven't got an album. But I have an album title.

PEOPLE: Who do you dream of collaborating with?

Chinouriri: Sabrina Carpenter, which now I feel like I should have asked her. I'm just going to say it in this interview, “Hey, Sabrina, if you're available, I'm available.” If she wants to do a little remix first, I'm here. I think PinkPantheress would be really cool. I love her current new song that's come out, and we would make something quite cool, actually. And I'm going to say Addison Rae because I'm loving the whole album and rollout. I also wanted to collaborate with Cat Burns and Alemeda, [and] now, have collaborations with them. Maybe in a year's time I'll be like, "Oh, I already have a collab with Sabrina Carpenter and Addison Rae," so you never know.

PEOPLE: Touring has become so expensive for artists, especially since COVID, and you were impacted by that. You had to drop out of Remi Wolf's tour. How did that impact you?

Chinouriri: It's still a struggle now, to some degree. You can get really big opportunities, but the resources that you need to do said opportunities come maybe a few months after you'd need money, which kind of makes it a bit stressful. But if you plan it properly, it can work out. I think I hit a phase [with the] Remi Wolf [tour] where I was taking every single opportunity, but not thinking about what the consequences of my own actions were. It really just showed me that this is not just fairies and running around on stage with glitter. It was quite a big wake-up call that I'm not just a musician, I'm also a business owner, a businesswoman, and I'm also in charge of paying other people in my band and team. Luckily, I got the support I needed, and my label made sure I'm coming out for the next tour. So I'm glad it's all worked out.

PEOPLE: It’s been really cool to see the community of Black indie pop fans supporting you. What has that been like?

Chinouriri: I've always loved pop and indie music, but I remember the feeling of when you see people who are doing the music you love, but then they look like you. I don't think I realized how much I was missing that because there were people like Shingai [Shoniwa] from The Noisettes and the girls with Sugarbabes, and then seeing people like SZA coming out.

There's just quite a magical thing happening and a community happening. I hope that when I'm 40 or something, I can look back at the 20-year-old Black girls who want to be in pop, and there's going to be loads of them in the pop and indie world, and it doesn't have to be such a struggle to get a Black pop star. It's more, “Look at how many there are.” The community that's been built now is really beautiful to be able to be a part of. People all understand the struggle, but also appreciate the music at the same time.

PEOPLE: A bit back, you spoke out about getting put on R&B playlists despite being a pop artist. Has that changed since you addressed it publicly?

Chinouriri: I've got some good news: I have started being put into the correct playlists. But I would be upset if I [didn’t]. The level of fuss I kicked up to get what I wanted was quite a lot. I was bordering on throwing a tantrum. I'm glad that it's changed, but I think the change has not just been beneficial to me. It's been beneficial to a lot of other Black musicians in alt and pop spaces. It is still an issue, but I'm glad that I'm able to even internally be able to work with people who can help. The amount of work I've even done with Spotify, Apple, Deezer, so many others…there's obviously a clear effort of trying to change that narrative, and I'm glad to be a part of trying to make that change.

Chinouriri's Little House EP is out now.